September 20, 2010

Pirates: Crazy Feathered... er, Parrots?

Ahoy, matey! Did you know Sunday was National Talk Like A Pirate Day? To celebrate we're doing a week of Pirates, and to start off, we made these paper tube parrots. They're cute... in a sort of hideously ugly way. Inspired by Vanessa's Owls @ Silly Eagle Books, I decided to see if the craft would work for parrots. Not sure if we succeeded, but it turned out to be great craft for fine motor skills, color recognition and sensory stimulation, not to mention a fun start to our Pirate Week!

First, my little Picasso painted a toilet paper tube an array of colors. Once the paint had dried we drizzled glue over the tube, then took a break while A threw a massive temper tantrum because the glue wasn't coming out fast enough for her liking. When she'd calmed down we added feathers, googly eyes, and a paper beak.

In the morning it'll be ready to take it's perch on a little pirate's shoulder!

Adorable illustrations and a sweet rhyming story make this a great pirate book for 2 and 3 year olds. A cute baby pirate explains all the reasons he loves his pirate papa: "I get to walk along the plan and leap into his lap. I've learned the letter X because he lets me read his map." The pictures are both fun and beautiful and partner the story perfectly. You'll enjoy it as much as your toddler!

Those are very cute parrots! We have those colored feathers too, and I have no idea what to do with them. Now I know - maybe when we do something with rainforests again. I tried to bring a couple of pirate books from the library, but daughter insists that pirates are "nasty" and is not interested whatsoever in them.